Pages

▼
▼

Sunday, September 7, 2025

BIG SCREEN THRILL: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925)

 

I admit to spending less and less time going out to see movies, but if anything can inspire me to venture forth into a theater, it's a revival of an old classic, and that's what happened last night. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, starring the legendary Lon Chaney, was playing for one night at the beautiful Virginia Theater in Champaign, Illinois, and I wasn't about to miss out on seeing it on a big screen. 

The Virginia is a movie palace that was built in 1921, with a wide screen and a stage that was used for vaudeville shows. It closed several years ago as a first-run theater and was eventually taken over by the Champaign Park district and lovingly restored to its former glory. It's used for a variety of live performances, the annual Roger Ebert Film Festival, and for periodic film showings throughout the year. Many of the films are sponsored by our local newspaper, The News-Gazette.




One of the nice features of the Virginia is the built-in Wurlitzer organ that has also been kept in repair all these many years and provided marvelous accompaniment for this silent classic. The imagery of the film was excellent. It's been may years since I saw the film, and there were so many things I didn't remember about it. So, it was kind of like seeing it for the first time. The crowd was fairly large, and, I must say, well-behaved. I saw only a few cell phones lighting up on occasion and there was respectful attention given to the screen. After the movie ended, the organist received a standing ovation. I chose a seat in the back row and had a perfect view of the film. All in all, it was a cinephile's delight, and I'm so glad I went.

My DVD of the film is a 2-disc package from Image Entertainment that I picked up at a video store that was going out of business quite a number of years ago. It has two versions of the film and many other extra features. It plays beautifully, so I don't feel compelled to replace it. But who knows; that double-dip fever may one day overtake me.















at

4 comments:

  1. Dan Day, Jr.September 8, 2025 at 12:43 PM

    Really jealous that you went to this! To me Chaney is the one TRUE Phantom. His performance--and--makeup--is mesmerizing. Chaney is the real hero of this film.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike's Movie RoomSeptember 9, 2025 at 12:41 AM

    We're very lucky to have this theater. I agree that Chaney is the only Phantom. The 1943 version is a musical with a few minutes of drama. But Claude Rains is always worth watching.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Flashback FanaticSeptember 11, 2025 at 3:10 AM

    You're lucky to have a nice local venue for film revivals. Hope there are many more to come.

    It's always fun to see a silent classic on the big screen with live music accompaniment. I thought I had seen a screening of the classic 1925 THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with live music performed by the silent score specialists Alloy Orchestra. My besotted brain is a bit foggy on that, as I have also seen screenings of other silent films that Alloy Orchestra performed with. I have the same Image DVD set you have, but I might be tempted to double dip for the Kino Lorber Blu-ray with the Alloy Orchestra soundtrack.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mike's Movie RoomSeptember 11, 2025 at 11:58 AM

    Yes, we are indeed lucky to have this beautiful theater and the opportunity for film revivals. It's truly a blessing, and I don't take it for granted. Your brain isn't the only one that's besotted, because I honestly can't remember if I saw The Phantom of the Opera on the big screen decades ago. I may have, but I'm just not certain. But this was a really terrific experience. I may dive into a double-dip experience with this classic at some point. It is indeed very tempting. Thanks for commenting, Flash. Take care!

    ReplyDelete